Renaturing
Small Ways to Wild the World
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Canongate Books
Publishing:13th Mar '25
£18.99
This title is due to be published on 13th March, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Twenty years ago, James Canton moved from London to the English countryside. Behind his farm labourer's cottage was a small field with a 'for sale' sign. At first it was a site for family picnics and cricket matches with friends, but James knew that the two-acre patch of earth held more potential - as a place for nature to return and flourish.
Here is the story of how, over a number of years, he undertook a project to 'rewild' the field: digging a pond, forging meadowlands, creating habitats for birds and insects, encouraging flowers and plants that support pollinators and wildlife. Eventually what was once just a grassy space was again buzzing with life.
The process raised some interesting questions. Rewilding is about bringing a large landscape back to a natural, self-sustaining state. But that wasn't possible on the scale of a field, a garden or a window box. What if we rethought the term? What if we aimed for 'renaturing' instead? Even on the smallest of scales we can create habitats to support a greater diversity of nature. A single window box planted with pollinator-friendly flowers can provide a mini-habitat to support honeybees; a tower block with a window box on every balcony becomes an acre of bee-friendly ecosystem.
Renaturing shows how the concept of rewilding can be adopted by us all. We can all make positive change, however large or small. We can all be involved in caring for and restoring the natural world.
A wry and open-minded interrogation of human interventions in the landscape -- RICHARD MABEY
A timely and urgent message made warm and accessible; in Renaturing Canton tells us that bringing back nature in any and all places is the best way to fix the biggest challenges of our time. This is a profoundly uplifting and empowering book -- BEN GOLDSMITH
A charming account of one man's decision to get his hands dirty and try to play his own small part in trying to make the world a better place. Thoughtful and insightful -- NEIL ANSELL
What James Canton promises is something hearty and hopeful: a clear-eyed way forward for the outside world and those who live in it, beyond the binaries of the rewilding debate and into an inspiring demonstration of how we can make a difference -- ALICE VINCENT
A balm for any nature-lover, Renaturing provides a meditative, practical and beautifully-observed account of restoring a small yet significant patch of land. Canton takes us with him on a journey of learning that offers plenty to any reader, whether steeped in the lore of rewilding and ecology or a newcomer curious to know more -- CHANTAL LYONS
It's impossible to feel what we should about the gigantic problems of our age: climate change, mass extinction, and so on. They are too big, and we are too small and too tired. But James Canton shows us a way to feel properly again when we look at the wild world - by looking quietly and closely at the wilderness on our doorsteps and in ourselves. A tender and important manual of intimacy and revolution -- CHARLES FOSTER
Renaturing presents an important, heartfelt message that there are things that we can all do to improve the current and evermore concerning state of nature. It is a book appealingly relatable in its content and deeply encouraging in its outlook. Enjoyable start to finish -- MATT COLLINS
A lovely, meditative, quietly inspiring book. There is a haikulike quality to the writing, in the focus it brings to the seasonal tasks of attending to a meadow - scarifying, sowing, scything - and the way these tasks resonate, reach out to a wider community of people caring for nature with the same diligence and love as Canton -- JAMES MACDONALD LOCKHART
A beautifully written book that encourages action that we can all take however large or small our ownership of land, from a window box to Knepp. I feel empowered to renature and to tell all my friends how to do it too. An essential book for our times -- MATTHEW SHAW, The Stone Club
James has penned a truly accessible book. Renaturing guides the reader through small but vital acts that we can all adopt to support wildlife and biodiversity through a changing climate. We are all a part of nature! -- ERROL FERNANDES, Head of Horticulture at the Horniman Museum
ISBN: 9781837260393
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
256 pages
Main